Ascoli

It's market day in the piazza in Ascoli and I was this close to buying a pair of beige suede booties with studs!!!! (I'm not kidding).  At this very moment I'm sitting in the piazza with the most beautiful plate  of pasta I've ever seen along with some pretty aggressive pigeons (and of course the obligatory glass of prosecco).

Ascoli is very beautiful, I don't think I've ever seen so many churches in one place. Beautiful old churches going back 1000 years. I visited a few of them today but the most memorable was Chiesa di S. Tomasso.  I love being in Italy at this time of year because there are almost no tourists, so here I am all alone in this church, looking over my shoulder to see if I can spot a monk or priest lurking in the corner and alas no one in sight. I actually touched 600 year old frescoes and put my hands on ancient chisel marks in the stone columns. How cool just to be surrounded by so much history. Even though it's raining and miserable I plan to sit here with my glass of prosecco and my new pigeon friends and do what Italians do best "dolce far niente"....